Ravencliffe

October 1, 2014
Half-breed Darkling Avaline Hall makes a triumphant return in the second installment of the Blythewood series. Readers will be reunited with Ava a mere two months after her first, nearly fatal victory over the Shadow Master, Judicus van Drood. But when young girls begin to mysteriously disappear, it becomes clear that van Drood and his shadow demons are back and more determined than ever to see darkness prevail. Shrouded in mist and mystery, turn-of-the-20th-century New York again provides an atmospheric backdrop as Ava and her friends, both human and mystical, realize they must break down the walls of prejudice and join forces if they hope to win the battle against van Drood. That's easier said than done, as secrets abound, and the desire to conceal them threatens to destroy the alliance before it's even formed. Ava herself, having felt like an outcast for so long, struggles to conceal the undeniable truth of her half-breed blood and her love for the Darkling boy named Raven. Though the tale and its message are sometimes heavy-handed, readers will readily relate to Ava and the other characters who struggle to embrace their differences and to stand up and fight for what they believe in. Rife with atmosphere, adventure and romance, this is a fantasy world worth getting lost in for a while. (Fantasy. 12 & up)

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December 1, 2014
Grades 8-11 Readers charmed by Blythewood (2013) will find nothing lacking in this stormy, romantic sequel, which skillfully integrates early 1900s history into the fanciful narrative. As a member of Blythewood Academy's Order of the Bells, Avaline Hall doesn't get summers off: she spends hers tracking down a changeling accused of identity theft. Once school starts, Ava struggles to hide that she is half Darkling (her wings are budding) and is in love with Raven, the Darkling teaching her to fly. Meanwhile, Judicus van Drood returns with an insidious plot to use hypnotized Blythewood girls to start a war between humans and faeries. Recommend this supernatural melodrama to fans of Gail Carriger and Libba Bray.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)